With the support of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), a draft regulation has been developed for municipal councils working on women’s and children’s issues. The document aims to ensure the protection of women’s and children’s rights and gender equality at the municipal level.
The working meeting, held at NALAG’s office on June 16-17, involved representatives from various municipalities, lawyers, and field experts.
During the meeting, participants discussed the content of the main articles of the regulation, including defining the council’s structure, competencies, and decision-making procedures.
As NALAG’s Executive Director Nino Rukhadze noted, the active participation of municipality representatives was crucial in the document review process.
“The municipality representatives’ shared local experience and practice-based insights significantly helped us formulate the core essence of the regulation. The discussion took into account regional social and legal issues, which ensures better alignment of the document with local governance practices,” stated Nino Rukhadze and noted that NALAG plans to consistently support the process to achieve successful implementation of the document and functional strengthening of councils nationwide.
The meeting was attended by: Lela Gotsiridze, Head of Children’s Rights Protection Department of Gardabani Municipality Council, and Jaba Dvalidze, Head of Social Services; Giorgi Batonishvili, Head of Legal Department of Gori Municipality City Hall’s Administrative and Procurement Service; Gogi Revia, Head of Social Protection and Women’s Rights Protection Division of Zugdidi Municipality City Hall’s Social and Healthcare Service, and Nata Papaskiri, Head of Council Staff; Tinatin Nibloshvili, Deputy Chairman of Tbilisi Municipality Council, Nino Chimakadze, Council Staff Legal Department employee, and Nino Burdzenidze, Mayor’s Advisor on Women’s Issues; and from Khashuri Municipality, Council Chairman Nino Liparteliani.
The discussions were moderated by invited and local experts Mako Avaliani, Nino Zurabishvili, and Giorgi Batonishvili, who ensured the substantive direction of the process during the review of regulation articles on both women’s empowerment and child protection topics.
The final version of the document will be provided to municipalities in the near future. According to meeting participants, this municipality-tailored document will become a significant milestone in creating and developing a system for protecting women’s and children’s rights and ensuring gender equality.